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Bear Mauling and other Bear Stories

oldschoolskier

Making fresh tracks
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Joined
Dec 6, 2015
Posts
4,227
Location
Ontario Canada
While I agree about firearms handling and ability, it still comes down to practicing the skill be it bear spray or firearm. In both cases not enough do in either case.

As to your stats, we’ll hang around a few good shooters and those stats just go out the window.

It’s about practice!

Bears spray from a chest holster in a second, wow.....wait, I’ve seen 5 shots hit 6” plates at various distance (15ft to 30ft) and locations from a holster in under 1.5 seconds. What’s in common here PRACTICE.

As I’ve said before the majority buys into this false sense security and doesn’t practice (be it spray or firearm for that matter even more so).

In your case, you seem too, great, and you also proved that there is a risk even prepared.

I’ll say it again to be clear, if you don’t want to carry a firearm or practice with it, don’t as you become an added risk, if you do PRACTICE.

You seem to know your limits (and that of your family) no problem there, just respect mine as I respect yours. There is no perfect solution.
 

Eric267

Gettin after it
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Joined
Dec 10, 2017
Posts
898
Location
Kings Beach
I've been sort of following this thread and trying to keep it light hearted but I'm a little confused. When referring to bear country were talking about brown bear right? Grizzly and Kodak up in MT,ID,WY, Canada, Alaska.

I keep seeing mention of black bear and paranoia around dogs and bear. My back yard is the Tahoe national Forrest. It is a bear habitat and running into bear is quite common depending on the time of year. I would never even think to carry a gun!! Although possible a dog could provoke an attack it is highly unlikely as black bear by nature are scared of dogs.

Just like any wild animal you need to treat it as what it is... WILD! I can see some people reading this getting the impression that the common bear is dangerous! You are more likely to get attacked and killed by a dog.
 

SShore

Resident Curmudgeon
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
556
While I agree about firearms handling and ability, it still comes down to practicing the skill be it bear spray or firearm. In both cases not enough do in either case.

As to your stats, we’ll hang around a few good shooters and those stats just go out the window.

It’s about practice!

Bears spray from a chest holster in a second, wow.....wait, I’ve seen 5 shots hit 6” plates at various distance (15ft to 30ft) and locations from a holster in under 1.5 seconds. What’s in common here PRACTICE.

As I’ve said before the majority buys into this false sense security and doesn’t practice (be it spray or firearm for that matter even more so).

In your case, you seem too, great, and you also proved that there is a risk even prepared.

I’ll say it again to be clear, if you don’t want to carry a firearm or practice with it, don’t as you become an added risk, if you do PRACTICE.

You seem to know your limits (and that of your family) no problem there, just respect mine as I respect yours. There is no perfect solution.

Amen. One thing I learned at the simulated encounter is you have very little time to react and do a task that one the surface seems simple, but in a very limited time high pressure situation is father complicated. It is troublesome to me that you find bear spray in every store out here but it is almost impossible to find a practice can of inert spray. I think you should have three or four cans of inert to live so you can practice year round to make grabbing, arming and spraying that stuff second nature. It is useless if you can’t effectively and quickly arm and spray it.
 

geepers

Skiing the powder
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Joined
May 12, 2018
Posts
4,256
Location
Wanaka, New Zealand
Read this whole thread, feeling a little anxious. One of my kids (now an adult) lives in Canada and his summer job involves walking in the wilderness. The folk he's working for have been doing it for over 20 years and incident free. It's always a bit heart in mouth when the news of a bad bear or cougar attack inevitably finds its way to Oz. Feel easier when the snow arrives and he switches to his winter work.


As far as handling bear/cougar encounters it seems to me the best thing is to maintain a safe distance - about 12,000 kms seems a good bet and I'm happy to advise that there is nothing in the Australian bush that thinks live humans are food. (Yes, we do have poisonous snakes and spiders but we have anti-venom - at least for most of them.) Next time you are thinking of a walk outside, come on over.

Sibhusky, so glad to read your family ended up ok.
 

SShore

Resident Curmudgeon
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
556
Funny thing is far more people are attacked by moose around these parts than bears and people I talk to that are in the woods a lot are far more scared of them. It's just not a sexy to report someone getting attacked by Bullwinkle as it is a Griz.
 

Sibhusky

Whitefish, MT
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Joined
Oct 26, 2016
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4,804
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Whitefish, MT
@Eric267 , we've got both. In fact, although the resort closes Hellroaring Basin the first week of April "for griz", I always took that with a grain of salt. Because for the first 13 years of living here (about 2-3 miles as the crow flies from the resort) we'd never seen anything but black bears. I have a wildlife camera and we've caught elk, mouse, lions, deer, and plenty of black bear on it, but never a grizzly. We are surrounded by logging company land and have been walking those roads regularly. There are lots of rogue mountain biking trails back there. People run and bike and ride horses back there. (And in the winter, snowmobile and cross country ski.) And the last report I'd seen of a grizzly in the area was 25 years before we bought the land. Certainly there have been reports by neighbors of encounters with lions and a few bears, but rarely, and never a grizzly. In fact, initially FWP was skeptical that it was a grizzly, except when they did their investigation. Over the course of it, it turned out there were at least two sets of mamas and cubs, or a minimum of six, and presumably there's at least one dad back there. The grizzles are returning and the area has been expanding. So, there will be more encounters, especially since the logging lands are now in a conservation easement and they are putting more hiking trails in.
 

noncrazycanuck

Out on the slopes
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Joined
Apr 27, 2017
Posts
1,463
Grizzlies are also becoming a bigger problem north of you.

Years ago I found it rare to see one in the wild, now its too common.
The conservationist in me thinks its a good thing as they were almost getting to the endangered level.
On the other hand they have no fear of humans and negative encounters are becoming too frequent.
You do not want to wind up as a friend did missing a face.

My daughter had one kill a black bear and cubs in her back yard last summer.
This was in an area (Sechelt on BC's Sunshine Coast ) where they had no reported sighting in decades.
At least the nearby school was still in class while it was tranquilized and relocated off the peninsula.
The parents all hope it has no homing instinct.
 

scott43

So much better than a pro
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Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
13,550
Location
Great White North
I just always wonder at what point do we start counting the number of people vs the number of other large wild mammals.. :huh:


 

oldschoolskier

Making fresh tracks
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Joined
Dec 6, 2015
Posts
4,227
Location
Ontario Canada
May not be the smartest decision (going back into the lions den so to speak) but it is definitely a tough, dedicated and courageous one (one can’t fault her for that as she knows the risk and is prepared best as can be).

Either way she does deserve my respect for that one.

Best of luck and wishes go out to her for making that choice and sticking with her passion.
 

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